Super League or Super Greed?
Well, that was fast.
In a matter of days, the creation of the European Super League went from idea, to implementation, to now it's dying moments.
Football fans across the world have fallen in love with the sport not only because of the community it supports, but most importantly because of the competition it garners. Whether it be domestic leagues, the UEFA Champions League, or even the World Cup, football fans are there every minute of every match to see their teams compete. But unfortunately, football has become a very money dominated sport. The annual favorites to win the world’s top competitions such as Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona, have created a culture of wealth surrounding the top clubs, willing to pay and able to afford players worth 200 million Pounds. Football has gone from hometown boys from small towns working up the ranks to clubs throwing around unfathomable amounts of money for the world’s top players.
Football fans protesting the Super League.
The Super League would be a 20-team league comprising 15 lasting teams with the excess five clubs from the class containing groups that qualify for their domestic European League Competition. The 20 teams would contend in two gatherings of 10 teams, each with a decent timetable of home and away matches against each group in the gathering. Premier League clubs Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City, and Tottenham, have all joined the Super League. Serie A teams such as Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan. And lastly La Liga clubs Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. Some very eye-opening ramifications of the Super League are making clubs think twice about joining it. “Officials at European soccer’s governing body, UEFA, which runs the Champions League, labeled the proposal for a closed superleague a “cynical project” in a statement,” wrote the New York Times. It has been speculated by UEFA and national governing bodies that the world’s top clubs that join will not be allowed to play in their domestic leagues the same seasons. For example, with the English Premier League’s (EPL) “Big Six” clubs joining, the EPL Chairman has discussed banning them from domestic play. Similar discussions are ongoing within La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga and other major leagues as well. An additional, shocking consequence that has shocked the world is also the banning of players in the Super League from representing their countries in International competitions like the European Championships and the World Cup.
On the evening of April 20th, Manchester City made an official statement stating that they would be seceding from the European Super League. The six-time Premier League Champions paved the road for the remaining five english clubs to also pull out of the league. This came only two days after the announcement was made for the foundation of the new, controversial league. Outrage from fans across the world, as well as the impracticality of the competition, ultimately led to this decision of suspending the European Super League. One Manchester City player, Kevin De Bruyne, wrote in an Instagram post that “I have worked and competed against everybody to try and win the ultimate...Let’s keep inspiring the next generation of footballers and keep the fans dreaming.” Players and fans vehemently supported his statement and demanded change.
Kevin De Bruyne taking a shot for Manchester City.
The European Super League represents the privilege that richer clubs have in making decisions. Football was created by the poor, but is now being stolen by the rich. As little kids, these world class players dream of winning a World Cup or even the Champions League, but with the Super League it would just promote a culture of greed. We firmly support Manchester City and the other EPL teams' decisions to withdraw from the Super League. Seeing the world’s best play against each other would certainly be mind blowing, but that’s what All-Star games are for. Nobody wants to see the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs play every week. At first, it would be exciting and entertaining, but then it would become redundant, dull, and would ruin centuries-old rivalries forever. Football is the sport of the people, and if the people aren’t being represented then football won't exist. Although interesting in concept, the European Super League perpetuates the stigma around oil money and rich clubs and it must not go forward.